Judge blocks Trump, Carl’s push for damages

A New York State judge today ruled that developers Donald Trump and Steve Carl don’t have the right to seek damages from the state for its refusal to issue permits for their Trump on the Ocean restaurant and catering hall slated for Jones Beach.

Court of Claims Judge Francis T. Collins, in a rebuff against the developers of “Trump on the Ocean” ruled they can’t seek damages for what they said is the state’s failure to issue timely permits.

Garden City-based Jaspan Schlesinger Managing Partner Steve Schlesinger said Trump on the Ocean plans to appeal the decision in this construction delay case.

Since the roughly $40 million Trump on the Ocean would be built on state-owned land, it requires building permits to be issued by the state.

But the state has refused to issue permits, citing issues such as the project’s inclusion of a basement in a flood zone.

Trump and Carl have argued that previous buildings on that site had basements, which are common even in flood zones.

The fight over damages due to delays is just part of a mesh of litigation that has engulfed the project.

Although Court of Claims Judge Francis T. Collins’s ruling is a setback to Trump and Carl, New York State Supreme Court Judge Ira Warshawsky earlier ruled that the state was arbitrary and capricious in not issuing permits. The state has appealed that decision.

In addition, the state has been seeking to claim rent from Trump on the Ocean, which has refused on the grounds that the state has been preventing the project from moving forward.

4 comments

I’m glad someone told these rich, spoiled babies to shut up and sit down. Trump and Carl are not new to the development game and should be aware that building codes change because we learn from our prior mistakes. In addition to basements, the old buildings probably had asbestos in them. Does that mean their new facility should be allowed to be built with asbestos containing materials?

agree with a complete review of the project before allowing it to move forward… do not agree with Scott’s assumption based on nothing but a guess regarding asbestos.

I think it has been LI’s method of operation as of late to delay major projects from pushing forward (IE Lighthouse, IE deer park, IE Kings park psych center… ect.). Aparantly the state is going along with it as well.

Any possibility these political mavericks realize that they are going to basically scare developers away from building here with a junk-load of red tape??? how do you think your rediculously inflated government salaries get paid? let me spell it out for you: t.a.x. d.o.l.l.a.r.s (see “Rateables”)

While I agree there is far more bureaucracy than necessary, those are all major projects that deserve to be scrutinized closely as they will have far more impact than a restaurant on the beach.
My point was that Trump already got a sweetheart deal and stands to make nice profit turning part of a public beach into an exclusive resort. Now, in typical Trump fashion, he’s trying to bully his way into special concessions to make things a little easier on himself.
We can’t just give developers free rein to build anything they say will benefit the public just because we need the jobs and tax base. The “if you build it they will come” mentality has got to stop. Do we really need more mega malls with the same corporate entities as in the town next door to spend what little money we have left after taxes and other neccessities. This island is getting more and more congested and our taxes still continue to rise. The developers do not always know what is best for a community and the bigger the project the more scrutiny it deserves. A couple of years ago, developers were telling us that the island could support twice as much retail space as existed. Now look at the glut of vacant retail and office space out there.
The nature of the projects you cited is not like anything ever built here before and combined with their scale, require large teams of professionals to review. It’s called “smart growth” for a reason and two heads (or three or four) are better than one. Let’s not rush into any knee jerk reactions and be smart about how we develop what little of this precious island we have left so we can all prosper.

SCOTT…..Its very simple. The Beaurocrats cant get out of their own way and are just trying to justify their jobs during a recession. First of all, TRUMP DID NOT GET A SWEETHEART DEAL! If you knew anything about real estate—TRUMP was the \only\ builder that came foward to build the new restaurant on Jones Beach and since the delays of the permits….none of us have been able to enjoy Jones Beach for over TWO Years! TRUMP laid out his own money to clear the old buildings—while the beaurocrats just shuffled Paper.

About the Author

Claude Solnik covers healthcare, finance, and technology/energy for Long Island Business News.